Chapter 4
Summer Sun Celebratory Chaos
Gaia; Equestria; Canterlot; Canterlot Castle, Main Corridors; 297 C.E.
Twilight and the Doctor ran through the palace. Past guards, servants, and one very strange looking clown. Each time they raced past a window, the sun was higher in the sky and the temperature kept rising.
"I hope you've got a plan!" Twilight shouted.
"Do you have any liquid nitrogen canisters?"
"What are those?"
"Then, I need a new plan!"
"Perfect!" Twilight complained.
"Halt!" A well sized group of guards blocked their way.
"You shall stay where you are!"
The Doctor sighed, "I don't have time for this," and he pulled out his sonic screwdriver. "Miss Sparkle, cover your ears."
Twilight obeyed, and just before the Doctor held up his screwdriver, and it let out a long, piercing whine that made windows crack slightly, and made the guards clutch their ears and flail about, swatting the air to get rid of the noise. The Doctor pocketed it and galloped towards the doors, Twilight close behind.
"That was handy... and fast," she complimented.
"They don't call it a sonic screwdriver for nothing."
Gaia; Equestria; Canterlot; Canterlot Castle, Main Courtyard; 297 C.E.
The mood of the onlookers slowly changed from awe to worry while the sun rose in the sky. It was beginning to get warmer and warmer far too quickly, as the sun was closer than usual. Sweat began finding its way down everyponys' brows with each second. Suddenly, a small patch of dry grass caught fire, the heat too much for it to bear. As it spread, so did a wave of panic that reverberated through the crowd. Some ponies screamed while most others ran for their lives.
The false Celestia laughed devilishly, her voice amplified with power, "FOOLISH CREATURES, SOON YOU SHALL BE NO MORE!!! HA HA HA!!!"
The Doctor and Twilight burst through the palace doors, both sweating profusely. The sun's heat increasing with each passing second. "Cease this madness now," The Doctor ordered the Impostor, "or I'll be forced to stop you myself."
The false Celestia turned to face the pair. "Well, well, well," she said, her horn ceased glowing for a moment, "It seems that you made it out, but you're too late."
Twilight wasn't listening. Instead, she noticed something: when the Impostor's horn stopped shimmering, the sun appeared to recede. Slowly, but it did.
"Doctor," she whispered out of the side of her mouth, "keep her focused on us. Her concentration is what's controlling the sun, so it'll back away when she's not using the spell."
"Hmm," he whispered back, "I guess you are more observant than I am. That's rare."
The Impostor laughed and shot a bolt of yellow light at the two of them. Twilight and the Doctor dodged and ran at her from both sides. "You think that you can defeat me? I've taken Celestia's body, I have total control of the sun, and now I will destroy you, Doctor!" She fired another blast of magic that caused the burning grass to spread in a circle around the Doctor. He tried to escape, but the fire would grow on the side that he tried for, each time. The Impostor gave a throaty laugh and continued her spell.
Twilight, who had sneaked around the Impostor's opposite side, watched her entrap the Doctor within a wall of fire and continue her reign of terror. Next, she did what she would later call the stupidest thing she'd ever done.
"Hey, you!"
The Impostor turned in surprise.
"Stop now!"
"Really," the Impostor said, "You're threatening me?"
"Umm... yes!" Twilight shot a focused beam of light out of her horn, but it reflected off of the Impostor's body. "What?! How?!" she stammered in disbelief.
"Foolish child! I'm a reflection! No amount of magic can destroy me! HA HA HA HA!"
Twilight looked in the Doctor's direction and watched him battle the flames that were closing in on him.
The Doctor held up his sonic screwdriver, and it let out a long, piercing whine which caused some windows to crack...
Piercing whine...
... caused some windows to crack...
A lightbulb instantly went off in Twilight's head. "Doctor!"
He turned and faced Twilight, screwdriver clutched between his teeth.
"Throw me the screwdriver!"
It took the Doctor a moment to realize what Twilight had in mind, and he did his best to toss the screwdriver through the flames. It landed a few meters from Twilight, and she made a mad dash for it.
The Impostor decided to have a little fun and shot concentrated bursts of golden light near Twilight. The bursts exploded upon impact, and Twilight, her strength reduced from the constantly increasing heat, dodged them with inches to spare. She made a leap for the Sonic and grabbed it in her hoof. She found the button, and aimed the device at the Impostor.
"What are you going to do," she said, feigning fright, "blink me to death?"
"No," Twilight said, "I'm going to make some noise."
Twilight held the Sonic aloft and pressed the button. The whine that left the Screwdriver was louder than before and sent a small sonic wave through the area. The Impostor covered her ears and lost concentration, causing the sun to recede once more. An ever growing web of cracks began to grow up her legs.
"What is this?!" she cried as her left foreleg splintered, followed by her right. "This is not what he promised! No! NNNOOOOOOOOOO!"
And the Impostor exploded into a shower of glass shards. The bits of glass rained down, bouncing off the grass in the surrounding area.
By now, the sun had backed far enough away, allowing weather pegasi to bring in clouds to douse the fires in the courtyard and around the city. Once the Doctor was freed, he ran over to Twilight and shouted, "That was brilliant! A sonic frequency that disrupted her power and was able to breach the defenses she created to protect her real form, while at the same time destroying her state of fragility as an easily damaged glass substance. Hmm, did that make sense. If not, I'll try to rethink that later."
"Yeah..." Twilight swayed a bit, the heat overwhelming, "It... worked..."
"Are you alright Miss Sparkle?"
"Yes... of course... Doctor," and with that, she passed out on the ground.